A 179% rise? Great Scott

Property purchasers who bought in these Hobart suburbs in 2017 will be sitting pretty, writes Jarrad Bevan.

FOR anyone with Dr Emmett Brown’s contact details or a Tardis, Rokeby 2017 is the place to go back in time to. In 2017, buyers could secure a typical house in Rokeby for a sharp $201,000.

But in 2022, across 65 sales, the Eastern Shore suburb’s median house price grew to reach $561,000.

This is a change in values that is all but unrivalled across the country, a 179 per cent increase.

Harcourts Hobart property representative Mark Weaver said Rokeby was similar to suburbs such as Warrane and Moonah 10 years previously.

“Rokeby is now a classic example of a lower socio-economic suburb, within 20 minutes of the CBD, that has still been affordable enough for young families to buy into existing properties or build new ones,” he said.

“Combined with the unprecedented growth driven by the pandemic, and strong civil investment into subdivisions, this has seen Rokeby absolutely skyrocket its median sales value over the past five years.

“With the new Glebe Hill Shopping Centre recently completed and the halo effect of surrounding suburbs Oakdowns, Howrah and Lauderdale, I predict that Rokeby will continue to be a fruitful suburb to invest or live from a capital growth perspective, well into the future. “Look for Clarendon Vale to be another banker in the years to come for all the same reasons Rokeby has delivered such exceptional growth of late.”

Early this month, Mr Weaver took No.3 Dart Ln, Rokeby to market and sold it quickly for $751,000.

“It is a great example of the quality new builds that now are prolific throughout Rokeby,” he said.

“While we weren’t overwhelmed with inquiries, as the market cools, we still managed to generate multiple offers above our listing price, within 10 days of listing.”

Throughout Hobart, the Top 10 growth suburbs over this period start at a 135 per cent uptick in Sandford, and climb all the way up to the benchmark that Rokeby set.

Almost every median price with steep growth was in the houses category, plus one high-performing unit suburb, New Norfolk, which was up 142 per cent.

The No.2 spot was claimed by Herdsmans Cove (162 per cent), followed by Primrose Sands (148 per cent), Gagebrook and Geeveston (139 per cent), Risdon Vale, Bridgewater (136 per cent) and Lewisham (133 per cent).

PropTrack economist Angus Moore said the five-year growth data revealed house prices have grown faster than units through the pandemic period.

“A big part of what drove that is that people wanted more space at home and were willing to pay for it,” he said.

Mr Moore said many strongperforming suburbs are in regional areas or smaller capital cities, which reflects the shift away from Sydney and Melbourne.

Those real estate dollars have flowed into locations like Adelaide and Hobart, resulting in significant growth, Mr Moore said.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh Tasmanian home prices have performed extraordinarily in recent years.

In 2021, home prices grew at the third fastest pace in more than 120 years, Ms Creagh said.

Looking ahead to 2023, Ms Creagh said interest rate rises — though not the only factor — would continue to be the primary driver of home price falls.

“A significant reduction in borrowing capacities implies further price falls,” she said.

“But once interest rates peak, and they are expected to next year, I’d expect to see prices stabilising and activity in the market picking up as confidence returns.

“History is no predictor of the future, but historically the downturn in the pricing cycle is less than the proceeding upswing.”